GeekgirlUnveiled: Wanted! Dark, flat tray

[Geekgirl]

As much as I love my sandalwood tea table, it just doesn't work for some things (photos. ) I'm on the hunt for a dark, flat (or very small lip,) no holes or slats tea tray, about 14x18 (or close). Wood or lacquer, although matte, or "satin" would be preferable to glossy. med-dark to dark brown or black... no busy patterns. Small, unobtrusive handles okay.

(geez, not picky AT ALL, am I?)

Oh, and also, I'm kind of a cheapskate, so I'd like to be in it for no more than $40 incl shipping. If it's really special I might push it.

My mad google skillz have forsaken me, so I'm hoping some of you teachatting fiends will have something like this that you remember in your bookmarks, (or sitting in a cupboard somewhere gathering dust. You know who you are!)

[Pentox]

Heh, I think I have just what you're looking for. Sadly I just bought it for myself, for taking pictures on.

It's black laquer, square, about 16" square I think. about 1" lip on the edges. No holes, no handles, no designs, just smooth black laquer.

I think I paid like 15 bux for it.

If you don't find something soon I could probably pick you up something like it next time i'm up in SF.

[Geekgirl]

cool, thanks. I think I found one online, but it is only 14" which is just a touch small. Let me know when you go, if you remember.

[MarshalN]

Do you want a plain wood one, or one that's decorated? Any pictures of something that looks like what you might want?

[Geekgirl]

Plain darker wood, or plain lacquer, preferably not high-gloss. About 16" would be great, square, rectangular, or rounded "corners," would be fine.

[MarshalN]

You need to go to Target anytime soon?

http://www.teachat.com/viewtopic.php?t=9162

[Geekgirl]

Heh, just goes to show ya. Good idea, thanks!

[jazz88]

I like these: http://www.sundancecatalog.com/PRODUCT/46607.html Too bad they are so expensive

[bi lew chun]

Beware of some of those darker Target trays if your primary aim is photos. While their cost/quality ratio is reasonable, I've found the large square (mango?) one difficult to shoot against. The grain and color of the wood almost has too much character. I'm sure someone of your talents could work with it, but I found it a little distracting in some shots where the subject required slight overexposure. For darker photos, which I know you shoot a lot of, it seems to work a little better.

I noticed Target had more basic/traditional trays as well, but I don't remember much about them.

[ABx]

Have you checked out Anzen, GG? It's been a while, but that kind of thing is right up their alley

[Geekgirl]

Hmmm, that's a good idea. I picked up a large tray at Uwajimaya this weekend, it is decorated, but the back side is a plain surface. I couldn't resist it.

I checked Target, and they really aren't very cheap. Also, they do have a bit too much going on, as bi lew points out, and would be distracting. It occurred to me that Cost Plus might have what I'm looking for, and I'll try there next weekend.

[silverneedles]

tray tray? or just a flat surface?

i'm looking for a black and a white plastic piece 8x10 to take pics on

checked the internets but seems to still be too expensive for a simple piece of plastic...havent found any unscratchable plastic yet
phoned some local plastic producers but nothing cheap

went to an art store got a thin ~ 5x8 for like 7$ but it was a blueish white
here in nyc theres a plastics store on canal street, hope to get there soon

ikea has some left over shelf/desk/panels/parts some are white, some are black, some are wood or veneer?, most have holes for where the pieces get put together,
i got a black veneered desk sized piece for 3$, but it had holes in it, and was 1 inch thick, so i was too lazy to cut it into a usable form... trashed it

[scruffmcgruff]

i'm looking for a black and a white plastic piece 8x10 to take pics on

Could you laminate some construction paper? Hmm, you could also try a flexible cutting board, that wouldn't be scratchable (by design!). Here are some to show you what I mean:

http://www.amazon.com/MIU-Flexible-Cutt ... B00011RTE8

http://www.fantes.com/cutting-boards.html

Haven't found any black ones yet, but white does seem to be an option.

[Geekgirl]

I'm thinking what I want is a flat board, finely grained, stained dark. I might have best luck just going to the woodcraft store and finding the size I want, staining and finishing it myself.

[Victoria]

How about here:

http://www.hankooktea.com/tea-ware/coas ... ables.html